Filling in the Gaps
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: I am going to take your memories and your Pokemon. You are going to get them back: those Pokemon you once owned…and only them. You do that, you'll be back on track. You capture the wrong Pokemon, and you'll be in further strife. As for why…you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge on the PFC. This first chapter is with prompt #006 – lost and found.

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**Filling in the Gaps  
Chapter 1**

**.**

The things I remember…they're just information. Facts. Necessities to function in the world, but with no emotional attachment.

I suppose that means that memories are things that can be done without. Because I manage to survive a good week before someone comes along and mentions them. And even after that, they're not a necessity. I can do without.

Except I can't because now I'm even more curious than before…and I'd been curious since I woke up without them. Without my memories I mean, in the north-east corner of the Viridian Forest. The exit to Pewter City's was directly west; south-west was the exit to Viridian. South of Virdian was a quaint little town called Pallet; east of Pewter was glaring waterfront city called Cerulean. For some reason, I can make out the entire Kanto region in my head, know exactly where I am – but not _who_ I am: not a single shred of personal information.

Knowing where I am is useful though. I can avoid the Kakuna nests with ease, knowing the breeding patterns of Beedril, where they liked to lay their eggs, and where they liked to colonise before their final evolution stage. I can avoid the Pikachu jam-packed with electricity, and the Butterfree that scatter stun spore and poison. I can find trees filled with perfectly ripe berries and apples and acorns before the bug-catchers can pick them dry – and even, sometimes, before the natives, the people who've lived there their entire lives, arrive.

I don't know why I know all this, where I learnt it from. I also don't know why I can't remember who I am, or any personal details at all. And I wondered about it. I hadn't been injured in any way as far as I could tell…and if the information inside my head was anything to go bye, I could tell quite a bit.

Still, I just hung around the first few days, just resting and thinking: planning my next move. I supposed I'd have to go to a city. Viridian might be the better choice; it was bigger, had more connections. But it was on the other side of the forest and I had nothing.

I collected supplies, thought carefully of my route out of the forest and then set off. I knew every inch of the forest, and everything about the inhabitants inside. It was only the travellers I had to worry about, and whether they caused the wild Pokemon to act unnaturally. But I saw no-one, and I had no trouble getting to the entrance of the forest.

But there's someone waiting for me.

**.**

He's got a strange smile. Mocking almost. And triumphant. But the most important is recognition. He knows me. He recognises me.

'Who are you?' I demand. Perhaps I should have asked who _I_ was, but that's not the first question you ask a stranger. And everyone is a stranger.

'Don't you remember?' The tone is mocking too – mocking, and knowing. 'Of course not. That's…unfortunate.'

There is falsity in his words. He sounding like he had something to do with it, and I said as much.

He just clicks his tongue at me. 'Such accusations,' he says. 'Unfounded, aren't they. Do you have any proof?'

I don't, not one in all the innumerable facts jam packed into my head.

'We were helping you,' he continues, but it is in the same tone as his other words, the same mocking tenor. 'We are helping you; improving me.'

'Improving me how?' I ask, curious and suspicious.

'Hmm…' He frowns. 'That's no good.' He shakes his head. 'Well kid, do you want your memories back?'

I hesitate. With the question just thrown at me like that, I wonder if I really do want them, really am willing to pay any cost for it (and what costs would those be anyway?) – because I can tell from the way he asks the question I'm not going to get those answers cheap. 'What's the catch?' I ask carefully.

'I wouldn't call it a catch.' But his eyes are gleaming as though there is. 'It's more…a necessity. After all, there's a process to everything, and to get your memories back…it's re-enactment.'

Following the footsteps of my life? 'I still don't understand,' I say. 'What do you know about me?'

'A lot.' He smirks. 'And nothing. You're the one with the knowledge.'

Lot of help that is. It annoys me. But this guy isn't exactly forthcoming with his answers and I know full well it's a lost cause.

'Well, you know a lost cause at least.' The smirk widens. 'Well, you're also smart enough to know you don't have much of a choice, right?'

I guess I am.

**.**

Walking through the forest that week hadn't left me with much to do, after having plotted my path and having encountered no problems at all. All I could do then was wander about who I was, where I'd come from. It had only been a week, but the lack of answers were driving me crazy.

So when someone offers me the chance to get them back, I'm all but ready to jump at the chance. Even though I've got all these facts in my head, not one of them is personal. Not one of them is meaningful – and meeting this guy at the entrance showed me that all the knowledge in the world couldn't plot the perfect course through somewhere.

And all that time trying to figure out where to go – wasn't I heading for Viridian to find my identity in the first place?

So no matter how suspicious the guy looks and sounds, I don't have much choice but to accept his words.

**.**

'Good.' He says. 'And don't worry; you'll understand everything in due time.'

I hope so. The lack of knowledge is even more frustrating when someone rubs it in every second.

'And, for now, here's what I can tell you.'

I perk up immediately…but it turns out he can't tell me much. I'm a Pokemon trainer apparently. I caught a few Pokemon. Eight of them apparently. Though he doesn't know what sorts of Pokemon they were…or he's lying and just saying that. It doesn't matter; I can't seem to get any answers out of him, and just by looking I can tell that a fist fight is going to end with me as the loser, big time.

'You'll have to go find them,' the guy says. 'They can help you.'

'Why?' I ask. Why would Pokemon be able to help me? Even if they were mine? Bonds were emotional attachments. Not neuronal.

'You'll find out in due time.' Those words again. 'That's something every trainer finds out on his own.'

That still doesn't sound like the whole story, but I'm getting used to this now. 'So I find these Pokemon I used to own, and then I'll have my memories back?' I ask. It sounds like a wild goose chase. The entire world is filled with Pokemon, and without any way of knowing what I owned – well, I can always go back to my original plan and find out my basic information from the police records of the Viridian City Police.

**.**

'Make sure you find them in order,' the man said to me with a parting wave. 'Otherwise the scrambled result might be irreparable.'

He knew something more. He was involved, somehow. But involved in what? Conspiracy? Kidnapping? Just trying to help? I had trouble believing the last one, but he had given me a bit to go on. I wouldn't have thought to find out what human I had once owned if it hadn't been for his comments.

And I'd been right. The Viridian Police was easily able to find out my name, my basic details. Shou Ichimura: age sixteen, blood type B, born right here in Viridian City. Apparently I got my first Pokemon from Professor Oak in Pallet Town four years ago: a Charmander. I'd gone missing ten months ago, appearing again…well, now.

My Pokemon had disappeared with me. The Charmander who'd evolved into a Charizard. A Pikachu caught from the Viridian Forest. A Staryu caught from Cinnabar Island. A Rhyhorn from the Safari Zone. An Exeggutor from the Ilex Forest in Johto. A Sneasel from the Icy Cave. A Stantler from outside Ecruteak City. And a Scyther from Johto's Bug Catching Park, that had evolved into a Scizor not long after.

Not one of those names mean anything to me. It is a good balanced team, but that's all it is. Because I don't remember a thing about any of them. And none of these facts I've learnt mean anything either, because I don't remember a thing about me either.

I can either leave things as they are, or I can go looking. Looking for my memories, for each one of those memories, for each of those Pokemon. One. By. One.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge on the PFC. This first chapter is with prompt #009 – faith.

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**Filling in the Gaps  
Chapter 2**

**.**

Now that I knew what my Pokemon were, I could make a plan of sorts. A foolhardy plan – but then again, what other choice did I have? Wandering around without memories is like wandering around without a dream, and right now I have neither of those.

I knew the species each of my owned Pokemon belonged to. And I knew the first of them: the Charmander I'd received from Professor Oak. I had to start with him.

But the Charmander had evolved and Charizard didn't exactly live in the wild. Charasific Valley would be my best bet, but it was still a long shot.

It was also a long distance away, and going out there without a Pokemon companion would be suicide. But, if that weird man's words was anything to go by, I couldn't risk getting a Pokemon of the same species as one of the previous ones. The chances of it being the same was slim, but it wasn't a chance worth taking.

Besides, it wasn't like Pokemon just jumped into Poke balls. Or Poke balls grew on trees for that matter. Accommodation at the Pokemon Centre may be free for registered Pokemon trainers, but nothing else was. I had to get money before I could catch a Pokemon, and for sixteen year olds who hadn't gotten a leaver's certificate from school, Pokemon battling was the only way I was going to earn points.

Stupid catch-22s, I thought, annoyed. Then I recalled something: things called Battle Facilities that were newly built all over Kanto. They gave out rental Pokemon, and prizes if you won. I either never knew or couldn't recall whether they required a fee to register, but it couldn't hurt to give it a try. I'd still have to travel a bit to the nearest facility – Cerulean City was just the next town, but I'd have to go through Mt Moon to get there. With the Sandshrew and Clefairy and Zubat and Geodude and Paras…without a Pokemon of my own, that would be a difficult trip. A dangerous one too, if Paras' spores got to me. I'd be left defenceless for any passing Pokemon to munch on.

The next nearest was Lavender Town – but I'd have to pass through an almost as dangerous Rock Tunnel to get there. Almost as dangerous I say because the Charmander I'd apparently owned would have been a big help getting through, with its tail flame. And if it had learnt Metal Claw by then, so much the better.

But that wasn't going to help me to _get_ to any of these Battle Facilities. So what was left? Try to apprentice myself to the local gym which probably wouldn't work because I had no Pokemon, steal something, or hang out in the Pokemon Centre until another option presented itself.

I shuddered at the thought of stealing something. Pokemon or money: both of those were important things to other people. I thought about that. I hoped my Pokemon had been important to me as well. In the few days I'd been at the Pokemon Centre, I'd seen all sorts of trainers. The ones I'd liked best where the ones who'd come in in tears or distraught faces, carrying their Pokemon carefully and waiting, anxiously in the lobby, until they were fully healed. The sort of trainers who cared that much about their Pokemon.

Suddenly, I found myself feeling incredibly lonely.

**.**

I did try the Gym, since I had nothing to lose by doing so. The leader, Brock, had surprised me with his kindness. Realising I didn't have any Pokemon or memories or money, he'd let me help out with the maintenance of the gym for a few days. Little things like brushing loose bits of dirt that required finesse that escaped his Pokemon helpers. Things like polishing the door handles to make things look just a little more spick and span.

I knew those sorts of things were only necessary during a Gym inspection, but I also knew that everyone liked their place to look as best as possible, and every little thing counted. So it was partially pity, and partially not. Either way, I came away with enough Poke-dollars to buy a Poke-ball and a flashlight. Medicines would have been useful, but I remembered recipes too, and berries were in abundance in the Viridian Forest.

The new problem was how to catch a Pokemon without having another to weaken it first. So I stayed at the Pokemon Centre for a few more days. I planned. I thought. I decided to head back to the forest for a few days: stock up on berries, make some medicine…just be prepared for the long journey that might follow. If I could get a Pokemon before or during that, I could train it up as well.

Maybe I could ask a trainer to lend me their Pokemon for a little bit. Or ask for them to catch something for me. Maybe I could even go back to the Police Station and ask for help there. Officer Jenny at least knew why I didn't have any Pokemon despite being a registered trainer. She'd probably help.

I don't know why it took me almost a week to think of that. But when I did, I let it mull for a moment. There was no downside to asking for help, expect injuring a pride I couldn't safely say I had at that point. After all, what did I have to be proud of? Mooching off the Pokemon Centre? It was more comfortable, and safer, than the outdoors, and I had the right to be there…but without Pokemon. The system was to support the Pokemon as well. People like me should sit quietly at home…

Except nobody said that. Not the nurse. Not the trainers who'd been stuck for days waiting for their Pokemon to recover and could easily see I didn't have a Pokemon like them, that I wasn't passing through on the way to another destination, or waiting so I could rechallenge the Gym Leader. But I thought it anyway. And I didn't want to stay a freeloader – or a charity case or whatever else you'd call it.

Maybe that was my pride, or a part of it. Or maybe that was just my nature. At this point, I didn't know nearly enough about myself to know.

I did go to Officer Jenny that afternoon. She understood my predicament, and my desire: the desire to find these Pokemon I'd been with before, to go back to the life I'd had, even though I remembered nothing of it at all. 'We'll be on the lookout as well,' she said. It would help a little, but since none of my Pokemon had any distinguishing features, not completely. Still, it would be far better than wandering completely blind through the world.

'That'd be great,' I said thankfully.

She smiled and clipped her helmet on. 'We'll be in touch,' she said, getting on her motorcycle. 'Come on.'

I stared at the bike, then climbed on tentatively. The seat felt uncomfortable, and holding onto a woman's waist to keep myself there when the bike was in motion was even more uncomfortable. I guess that meant I hadn't been into being on motorcycles before I lost my memories. Not a particularly useful tidbit of information, but at least it was about me and not the rest of the world.

Office Jenny pulled up in front of a low-flowing river. I could see the turbines and, behind them, the old abandoned power complex. There was a newer one now, near the Pokemon Centre on Route 10. There were Pikachu there, along with Magnemite and Voltorb…but the Pikachu were the important ones. My Pikachu could have wound up there, if it wasn't in the Viridian Forest.

That might have been another reason I was reluctant to go to the forest. Was I afraid of meeting my Pokemon…or was that mystery man's words stopping me, telling me I needed to find Charizard first?

**.**

Officer Jenny had brought a Pidgeotto and a fishing rod with her. 'There are plenty of Magikarp around,' she explained, 'but they're not the best for a trainer without any other Pokemon. Or Gyarados for that matter.'

I nodded. That was true. But they weren't the only Pokemon around. There'd be Wingull as well, but they were flying types and not likely to get caught by a rod. There'd be Poliwags deeper in the water, with the reeds. There'd be Chinchou as well, taking advantage of what remained of the old electrical systems. A Chinchou would be best: its electrical attacks would take care of the Zubat and any other flying types I encountered later on. At least until I got Pikachu back. But Poliwag were more mobile on land. And then the really rare Seel or Wooper, but there weren't too many of those in these parts. A Seel would be strong against flyers as well…but equally unmobile on land.

I cast the rod, listened to its "poink" as it broke the surface of the water. I supposed fate would decide which Pokemon I got. Or Pidgeotto would, because every time I saw a shadow sneaking up to my rod, it would squawk and send it scuttering away. After the fourth time, I looked questionably at Officer Jenny.

'Pidgeotto have sharp eyes,' she explained. 'She's scaring the Magikarp away because she knows you don't need one right now. And she's also scaring the Chinchou away because of their electricity.'

So I wouldn't be getting a Chinchou. Though it didn't really matter. No Pokemon was going to counter everything that got in my way, and they didn't need to. All that thinking was as though Pokemon were tools. If I met a Pokemon that stole my heart away, it didn't matter what sort of Pokemon it was.

That's what I told myself anyway. Not remembering any of my experiences with Pokemon made it difficult to know for sure.

But I'd make a new one. Starting with whatever tugged on my rod. And finally one did and I pulled the rod up, along with the squirming Seel at the end of it.

Seel. I hoped that Pokemon would help me find my Pokemon and my memories…and the truth.


End file.
